Teacake Bake Shop

This little bake shop is my dream come true...



Thanks friend for taking me there!
It's amazing to have someone support my passion! :)

Alone at last...

Finally, the requisite trips home for the holidays are over and done with...
and while I didn't bake much NEW stuff this holiday season, I sure baked a lot of the "classics"!

Peanut Butter Brownies
Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
Choco-PB-Crispy-Marshmallow Brownies (the biggest hit this season)
Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Icing
"Crack" Goldfish
Thumbprint Cookies

Hope everyone had a happy Christmas!

the annual family holiday party

My urban family often gets together regularly for food shenanigans... usually going out for a meal together. But always around the holidays, we try and do something more "cozy" and "homespun". This year was no different... while I have little photographic proof of our fun times this time around... we all still had a blast.

We (the girls), of course, made TONS of food.
Homemade guac, reindeer cookies, braised ribs, yummy greens(I forgot what it was), mashed potatoes, bacon fudge, seafood crostini thing , prosciutto-feta pinwheels , peanut butter kiss cookies, "crack goldfishes", marshmallow crispy brownie bites, bacon wrapped lil' smokies, eggnog!

Very rarely do I get a chance to make much party food... so I have had this recipe bookmarked FOREVER. It's really simple and quick. And gives me a reason to bust out the crock pot.

Bacon Wrapped Lil' Smokies from justJENN recipes

it's cold outside!

It's getting REALLY tough to just not curl up under the blankets 24/7 as the cold starts to creep into "sunny" socal. True, its not nearly as cold as it gets in other parts of the country/world. But for someone like me... this is no bueno. I can't find enough layers to put on!

I did get a chance to do some baking though... after all, the oven is a nice big heat source.
So, from Michelle's blog Brown Eyed Baker... I made her Empire Cookies to ring in the holiday season!

These were a lot easier to make than I imagined. Must have been my fear of rolling out dough.
But these rolled out and cut no prob!
I love the versatility of these cookies too... this time around I used good ol' strawberry jam. But next time I can use whatever I want! And I can also color the icing any color to fit any occasion!

Cranberry Cake

So, of course, I can never get away without making dessert for Thanksgiving. At the last minute, I stumbled upon the post for a cranberry cake on the King Arthur Flour blog - which BTW is a really great blog!

And I like this recipe because you can easily make it with other fruits too.

Check out the blog!

Here's the post for Cranberry Cake.

I was a bit iffy about this cake mainly because I've never been much into cranberries - I have never eaten a fresh one or even tried the cranberry jelly in a can. But this cake came out great. In fact, it was even a hit among the cousins who rarely say anything is "really good" and go for seconds. The cake is reminiscent of coffee cake (dense and moist) and the cranberries are nicely tart with just enough sugar on top to even it out.
I served it warm outta the oven, which I think is the best way; there weren't any leftovers for me to try out at room temp the following morning.

(sorry for the poopoo cell phone pictures...)

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's that time of year when all the kiddos have to migrate home again for the good ol' family meal... so while I'm back in the cold cold bay area, avoiding long "talks" with my mom, relentlessly eating everything in sight... i will be dreaming of the yummy December baking that will ensue upon my return to sunny so cal.

Pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing in a RAD pumpkin shaped pan

Chicken Pesto Pizza

So, while I'm not a cook in anyway... I do get inspiration from Reeni over at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice to make actual food (not just desserts).

On the menu this time was "homemade" chicken pesto pizza...
of course, everything was bought ready-made. But it's better than straight outta the freezer or delivery, yes?

Don't judge me as I guide you through the lazy-ass "cooking" I resort to...
Ready to bake pizza dough...

Ready to eat chicken...

with pesto outta the tub...

Pre-shredded cheese...

For the record - I did cut up the tomatoes all by myself. Thankyouverymuch.

I went a bit heavy handed on the cornmeal...

and of course, had issues stretching out the dough...

BUT, still good! I mean, its not like I coulda under-cooked anything. (Well, minus the pizza dough).